Performance issues are very important in any enterprise system. When hundreds or thousands of partners and applications are connected together, complex interactions with unforeseen consequences are common. Frequently, this complexity leads to poor performance and no one knows why. 

As with many B2B gateways, understanding IBM Sterling B2B Integrator performance is more art than science. There is little theory that is ultimately of any use in practice.But I can share rules of thumb gained from personal experience, and offer examples where to help show why these rules work.

There is a myth in the industry that performance issues within B2B Integrator are due to the product itself. Let me debunkthis myth with an example. When we look at an iceberg, all we see is what’s above the surface of the water. We don’t see what’s below the surface. It’s easy (and common) for many people to base our understanding of a problem based on what we see and hear. But it’s important to look deeper. If we do, we’ll discover that there’s much more than what catches the eyes.

B2B Integrator is “tip of the iceberg” for the enterprise B2B ecosystem – and because it is the most visible, it tends to get the blame for all performance issues. But beneath B2B Integrator, there are hidden layers – including databases, the operating system, hardware, and network – all of which equally contribute to the performance of the enterprise system.

So, let’s examine some of the causes of possible performance issues with B2B Integrator and the tools that can help to diagnosis the problems. You don’t need to use all the tools to troubleshoot a single problem, you can pick and choose your tools based on the symptoms.

Identifying the root cause of a performance problem requires significant research and analysis to ensure that the proposed solution or tuning will actually resolve the problem. Any improper solution or tuning will have adverse side effects. IBM Software services may be engaged for discovering the problems early and systematically eliminating the root causes for maintaining a healthy B2B system.